Military tribunal says men were paid to start revolt against Hezbollah
By ANNA AHRONHEIMUpdated: SEPTEMBER 26, 2018 14:34A Lebanese soldier carries his weapon as he stands at an army post in the hills above the Lebanese town of Arsal, near the border with Syria, Lebanon September 21, 2016. Picture taken September 21, 2016. (photo credit: MOHAMED AZAKIR / REUTERS)
Three Lebanese citizens have been sentenced to prison and hard labor after being found guilty of spying for Israel.Hasan Salemeh, Karam Idris and Kamal Hasan were sentenced Tuesday by Lebanon’s Military Tribunal chaired by Brig.-Gen. Hussein Abdallah after they were found guilty of providing Israel with intelligence about Hezbollah’s military arsenal and operations as well as images of strategic locations in Lebanon.The men are also alleged to have accepted payment from Israel in order to start a revolt in Lebanon against Hezbollah.The three men, who were reportedly spying for Israel since 2015, were said to be in possession of Israeli wireless communication devices at the time of their arrest last October.The three were also stripped of their civil rights as Lebanese citizens.Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar newspaper reported that the three were led by a Lebanese citizen who is currently in Israel and that they confessed to having contacted Israelis on several occasions. Hassan allegedly admitted to meeting Israeli officials, including IDF Arabic-Language Spokesman Maj. Avichai Adaree, as well as a Mossad operative.Salemeh was said to have contacted Israeli officials through social media, offering to photograph several areas in southern Lebanon and provide information about military sites and places belonging to the Lebanese political parties.Lebanese security forces arrested three men and two women on suspicion of spying for Israel in January, following what was said to be an intensive investigation and monitoring of Israeli intelligence operations in the country.The media office of Lebanon’s General Security Directorate said the individuals confessed to passing information to the Mossad via Israeli embassies in Turkey, Jordan, Britain and Nepal. The two from Nepal were also suspected of recruiting other Nepalese workers in Lebanon to expand the cell.“The intelligence war between the Israeli and Palestinian security services of Lebanon and Hezbollah continues, as we recently arrested a cell with three Lebanese citizens operating out of the Bourj el-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp and Deir Koubel, a Lebanese village, who were recruited by the Mossad to gather intelligence on the resistance [to Israel],” reported Al-Akhbar, quoting security forces at the time of the arrests.“After their interrogation, the arrestees were referred to the competent court on the offense of collaboration with the Israeli enemy, and work is underway to arrest the rest of the people involved,” the report said.
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